Sun Liulang felt very hungry. He had not eaten for a day and a night, and he felt very panicked and hungry. In addition, the cool breeze blew all night in this quiet place, in short, Sun Liulang was in a bad mood.
As a grain merchant who has been traveling between Wakasa Obama Port and Omi Kannonji Castle for a long time, Sonrokuro said that this was the first time he encountered such a situation - he was robbed.
This group of "robbers" not only robbed all the food carried by their group, but also squeezed out every copper coin. In short, everything of value was taken away.
The only good thing is that I managed to save my life.
Sun Liulang is the boss of this caravan, with a total of eighteen people.
They thought they were going to escape back to Wakasa hungry, but Sonrokuro and others suddenly saw two figures appearing on the mountain path, which gave them hope.
Looking at the panicked Matsunagahide in front of him, and then at Yamazaki Hiroyuki who was thrown to the ground not far away, Sonrokuro licked his lips and said slowly, "Don't get me wrong, we don't steal money, we just want to eat in one bite of."
"Yes, yes, we just want food!" The other men standing next to Sun Liulang also nodded quickly.
Matsuhisa Nagahide looked at Sonorokuro suspiciously, and then said cautiously, "Do you really just want food? You won't steal your wealth or kill your life?"
"I, Sun Liulang, am a well-known businessman in this area, how could I possibly commit such a bandit act!" Sun Liulang patted his chest.
Matsuhisa Nagahide breathed a long sigh of relief, quickly put the copper coins in his hand back, then took out a few rice balls from his body and handed them over, "I was in a hurry when I came here and didn't bring anything to eat, so these are the rice balls, everyone." Let’s make do with it.”
Seeing the rice ball, Sun Liulang's eyes suddenly glowed green and he quickly grabbed it.
"Although it's just a few rice balls, it's enough to satisfy our hunger." The rice balls Matsunaga Hide carried were prepared by the Kyogoku family during the battle. They were large enough. One rice ball was enough for two or three people to barely eat half full.
Although it's only half full, it's better than being hungry.
"Saheibei, are you okay?" Taking advantage of the time when Sonrokuro and others were eating rice balls, Matsuzaki Nagahide quickly helped Yamazaki Hiroyuki up from the ground.
Yamazaki Hiroyuki waved his hand, put the sword back into the scabbard, and said with an embarrassed look, "What happened just now happened suddenly, and I was caught off guard and was attacked by these people. If it were a fair fight, the next few would not be my fault." opponent."
Matsushita Nagahide quickly showed an expression that said, "I believe whatever you say," "Saohei, it's not a good time to stay here for a long time. If these people change their mind later, it will be in trouble. It's better for us to leave first."
"This is what I want"
While Matsunaga and Hide were muttering to the side, Sonrokuro and others not far away also finished their rice balls.
"I, Sonorokuro, will remember the kindness you have given me by sharing a meal with you. If you two have time to go to Kohama Port in the future, you can come to Yoneda House. I, Sonorokuro, will thank you deeply!"
"Yonedaya? Could it be that you are a grain merchant?" Yamazaki Hiroshi on the side asked reflexively.
Sonrokuro nodded and said, "Yes, I do run the grain business. This time, I brought a batch of grain from Kohama Port to be shipped to Asai County. In recent years, the grain production in the Asai family has been severely reduced, and a large amount of grain needs to be purchased every year. .”
"Unexpectedly, when we arrived here, we were hijacked by a group of unknown people, and then all the food we brought was robbed. Fortunately, we are not worried about our lives, which can be considered a blessing."
As he spoke, Sun Liulang continued with an expression of regret and regret, "Well, actually before I came here, I heard that this place has been very chaotic recently. Suddenly there are a lot of bandits. Many businessmen would rather go around here than go through here. Morning. I wouldn't go here if I knew someone was really looting here!"
"To be honest, we are retainers of the Omi Kyogoku family, and we are here to purchase food. Does your Excellency know where I can collect food?" Matsunagahide didn't want to listen to Sonrokuro's nonsense, and directly stated his identity.
Upon hearing that the other party turned out to be a samurai, Sonrokuro's expression changed, and he quickly saluted, "I didn't expect you two to be samurai from the Kyogoku family. I have offended you just now, so please forgive me!"
“He who doesn’t know is not guilty, you don’t have to be.”
"You two adults want to buy grain. Could it be that the harvest in the Kyogoku family has also failed this year?" Sun Liulang suddenly thought that he had obtained another business opportunity.
Seeing that Matsuhisa and Nagahide didn't reply for a long time, Sunrokuro also stopped asking questions and changed the topic to "If the villain's food has not been robbed, it can be sold to the two adults. But for now, you can only I bought it from nearby farmers.”
"However, it is said that this place is not peaceful during this period. All the food in the hands of farmers has been collected by nearby warriors. If the needs of the two of you are huge, it may not be easy to handle."
"If you two are not in a hurry, I can return to Xiaobin Port and send a batch of food to Omi. I wonder if you two adults are interested?" Sun Liulang also followed the stick and started business directly.
Matsunagahide and Yamazaki Hiroyuki looked at each other, and then said, "Thank you for telling me, we have our own plans. If nothing happens, we will leave first and say goodbye!"
Matsunaga and his wife had important matters to attend to, so they would not waste time with a businessman. Of course, the most important thing is that all of Sonorokuro's food was robbed. Otherwise, Sonorokuro would be regarded as a big brother by Matsunaga and the Yamazaki Hiroshi family. Dude.
"Henrokuro Hall, it seems that it is not easy to buy grain from merchants. It is not difficult to hear from Sunrokuro's words before that no merchant has passed here for a long time."
"In this case, we can only find a way to buy some food from farmers here."
Matsushita Nagahide nodded, "But we have brought enough money. How can we transport so much food back?"
"Let's not talk about money now. Let's find food first. Otherwise, what's the use of bringing more money and not being able to buy food?"
"The Xiongchuan Township is ahead. There are several villages there. Let's go and take a look first!" Yamazaki Hiroyuki said, pointing to the northwest.
"That's all it can do."
An hour later.
Under a tree by a river in Xiongchuan Township, Matsushita Nagahide and Yamazaki Hiroyuki stood back to back, breathing heavily.
After visiting three or four villages in a row without finding any food, the two of them were completely disappointed. In fact, it is impossible for ordinary farmers to have much food in their homes. In addition to paying agricultural taxes on the grain produced in the fields, the rest is either used to grow grain for the coming year, or has long since been taken away by merchants from various places.
Obviously, Matsunaga and Nagahide came at the wrong time, because there was a war in Wakasa a few days ago, and a nearby Takeda family retainer had already collected all the food in Kumagawa Township.
However, although the food was not found, Matsunagahide and his two men were not without gain. At least they learned a piece of news, that is, the person who recently robbed passing merchants here was neither a nearby bandit nor a farmer, but a farmer. They are a group of "outsiders".
